The Golden State Valkyries will look to keep alive their flickering aspirations for the top spot in the WNBA standings when they face the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday in Uncasville, Conn.
The Valkyries (26-11) snapped a two-game skid with an 80-66 victory over Minnesota on Monday in Minneapolis. Golden State, which has seven games remaining, resides four games behind the first-place Lynx. Minnesota has just five games to go.
“Right now where we are in terms of the season, it’s just nice that we are executing all four quarters,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “So obviously, I was pleased. We made it a point that we really wanted to make each other better (on Monday), and we wanted to play for each other.”
Cecilia Zandalasini scored 18 points, Gabby Williams had 15, Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes each added 14 and Janelle Salaun contributed 12 as Golden State improved to 1-1 on its five-game road trip.
“We were really locked in. Everybody was on the same page. The effort was there,” Zandalasini said.
Williams, a UConn product, scored 15 points to pace the Valkyries to a 97-70 victory over the Sun on May 25 in San Francisco. Burton had 17 in Golden State’s 79-64 win over Connecticut on July 10 in Uncasville.
Like the Valkyries, the Sun (10-27) snapped a two-game skid in their latest encounter.
Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 26 points in her return from a four-game absence caused by an ankle injury, fueling Connecticut to an 87-81 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky on Tuesday. She also had a season-best 10 rebounds while pacing the Sun to just their third win in 12 games.
“It just speaks to our resilience,” Edwards said. “… We just got off a West Coast trip, so jet lag is kicking in. We have a back-to-back (on Wednesday).
“We just have to keep that same energy that we came into (Tuesday’s game with). No matter what run is thrown our way, no matter what calls are thrown our way, we just have to pick each other up and play for the person beside you.”
Diamond Miller added 21 points and Kennedy Burke logged 19 in the win. The Sun prevailed without Brittney Griner and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, both sidelined due to knee injuries. Griner missed her fifth game in a row, while Nelson-Ododa hadn’t missed a game since May.
–Field Level Media
